Miami Marlins: Get to Know Newest Marlin OF Bryan De La Cruz

After the Miami Marlins made their first move on Wednesday sending outfielder Starling Marte to Oakland for LHP Jesus Luzardo, Miami made yet another move sending closer Yimi Garcia to the Houston Astros.

While the Marlins also received a pitcher in the deal, the headline return for Miami was 24-year old outfielder Bryan De La Cruz. Seemingly major league ready right now, De La Cruz is a player that could make an immediate impact for the Marlins going forward.

Get to know new Miami Marlins outfielder Bryan De La Cruz.

Originally from the Dominican Republic, De La Cruz signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros back in 2014. Only 17-years old at the time, De La Cruz began his career playing with the DSL Astros where he slashed .262/.387/.317 during his first professional season.

The young outfielder then spent the 2015 season in Rookie-Ball as well, before earning a promotion to Low-A during the 2016 season. De La Cruz however struggled in limited action, and began the 2017 season as well in Low-A where he struggled again slashing a combined .244/.290/.335 across three different levels.

De La Cruz would truly start to take-off as a player during the 2018 season beginning the year in Low-A playing with the Quad City River Bandits. Across 65 games, De La Cruz would slash .283/.348/.380, and would then earn a promotion mid-season to High-A for the first time where he posted similar numbers.

Building off a breakout 2018 season, the then 22-year old outfielder posted a combined .280/.340/.428 slash line during the 2019 season, while also showcasing improving power with eight HR’s with a career-high 12 SB’s. Inching closer to a potential big-league call-up, De La Cruz would’ve most-likely reached Triple-A a year ago, but it was not a total loss as the outfielder impressed playing with Toros del Este in the Dominican Winter League in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Fast forward to this season and the 24-year old has dominated Triple-A pitching slashing .324/.362/.518 with the Sugar Land Skeeters with a career-high 12 HR’s and 50 RBI’s across 272 at-bat’s.

While De La Cruz isn’t necessarily a Top 30 prospect, the outfielder has shown improvement in key areas over recent years leaving some to believe he can be an impact player for the Marlins going forward. While it is unknown how or what role Miami will use the 24-year old, De La Cruz appears big league ready right now, and can easily slot into any outfield position for the Fish, all of which he has extensive experience in.

The 24-year old won’t necessarily blow-you-away with stats, but is a player that can step in at any of Miami’s outfield positions and contribute from day one. When looking at the Miami Marlins outfield plans going into the 2022 season, De La Cruz certainly appears to be a name that will be a big part of those plans.